Climate of the polar realms - The Global Climate System: Patterns, Processes, and Teleconnections - page 132

Figure 5.1 Meridional
cross section of the radiation
budget and the resulting
energy transport for
equilibrium from the tropics
to the polar regions.
and the ocean, is also shown. Differences and similarities between the two
hemispheres will be discussed in greater detail separately for the two regions.
Furthermore, these regions play a major role in global change, as here the
climate change is enhanced due to the strong polar albedo feedback mechan-
ism (IPCC 2001 ).
5.2 ESSAY: Antarctic Climate
5.2.1 Introduction
It is thought that Antarctica was first sighted by Captain James Cook on
January 26, 1774, when he was reported to have seen ''an appearance of land.''
The first systematic meteorological observations were obtained more than a
century later in connection with the exploration of the continent and the race to
the South Pole, the so-called heroic period in Antarctic exploration. Expeditions
led by Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, and Mawson had to overwinter in
Antarctica so that they had an early start the following spring, at which time the
sea ice surrounding Antarctica made the access to the continent proper impos-
sible. Hence, the first year-round meteorological observations on the continent
were obtained early in the twentieth century. After the South Pole had been
conquered in 1912, the activity in Antarctica decreased. An early summary of
our knowledge is given by Meinardus ( 1938 ). The next great push in scientific